Twelve teams averaged 120.89 points, three of them lost by more than 66, and the owner who spent his entire draft cornering the running back market finished eleventh in scoring. Week 1 did not ease anyone into this season. It kicked the door in.
By CHET McNULTY
Senior Basement League Insider
BASEMENT LEAGUE HQ: Week 1 is in the books, and so are several of my preseason opinions.
WEEK 1 SCOREBOARD
League average 120.89
CKWADE
144.50
BRIDGE FOUR
72.26
Gibbs 33.6, Christian Watson 32.7, Dart 26.6
WOLFHOUNDS
191.66
BRUISERS
117.06
Caleb Williams 37.3, Walker 34.1, Flowers 26.0
SCALABRINE
137.50
OLD SCHOOL
122.42
Montgomery 28.9, Lawrence 26.1, Javonte 24.2
KRAEMERICA
119.86
ZADDY
92.72
Jeanty 32.7, Smith-Njigba 26.2
HOPE IS COMING
124.86
HOUSE OF WENKE
94.80
Jefferson 31.2, Lamar 25.0, McPherson 19.0
FELLOWSHIP
149.82
HAHA
83.26
Henry 35.3, Olave 28.2, Hurts 24.7
THE WOLFHOUNDS BROKE THE SCOREBOARD
191.66. The Commish put up a number 42 points clear of anyone else in the league and did it without his most famous name: Travis Kelce watched all 10.1 of his points from the bench. Caleb Williams, a round-13 quarterback, threw for 37.26 and outscored every signal caller in the league including Josh Allen. Kenneth Walker added 34.1, Zay Flowers 26.0, Ladd McConkey 19.2. The Bruisers scored 117 and lost by 74, which tells you everything about the kind of afternoon this was on one side of the field.
In the preview I said to buy low on the Commish and bet on the tenacity. One week is one week, but the receipt is filed.
THE GAMBIT'S ROUGH DEBUT
House of Wenke spent picks 11, 14, 35 and 38 on running backs. In Week 1 the three he started, Achane, Hampton and Kyren Williams, combined for 34.4 points. D'Andre Swift, the fourth back, the one he left on the bench, scored 32.4 by himself. Matthew Stafford gave him 4.1 at quarterback while Jordan Love put up 19.5 in street clothes. Final score 94.80, a 30-point loss to the defending champion.
"Cornering a position only works if you start the right ones."
Nobody should bury this roster in September. The running back depth is still real and the trade leverage is still coming. But the first data point on the boldest strategy in recent league history is not the one he wanted.
CROW, SERVED COLD
Three things I said before the season, and how Week 1 responded.
I called Fellowship overrated. They hung 149.82 on HaHa, second-highest in the league, with Derrick Henry going for 35.3 and Patrick Mahomes scoring 21.7 from a bench they did not need to touch. That is not a team getting by on December luck.
I predicted Hope is Coming misses the playoffs. The champ opened with 124.86 and a comfortable win, Jefferson and Lamar doing exactly what they were drafted to do. The prediction stands, because one week does not unmake a season, but the early returns are not kind to my column.
I named Bridge Four my dark horse. They scored 72.26. Lowest in the league by 11. Colston Loveland posted a zero, Kenny Gainwell managed 2.8, and Brandon Aubrey, the kicker taken in round eight, delivered 2.0 points while Chuba Hubbard scored 23.7 from the bench. I have been at this press table fourteen years and I have never wanted a mulligan faster.
SCALABRINE WINS THE WRONG WAY, WHICH IS HIS WAY
Ja'Marr Chase scored 3.2. Brock Bowers, the round-two tight end, did not play. That is a first-round receiver and a second-round tight end combining for 3.2 points, and Scalabrine won anyway by 15. David Montgomery went for 28.9, Trevor Lawrence 26.1, Javonte Williams 24.2, Parker Washington 19.3 out of nowhere. Two rings and the third-best win percentage in league history are not accidents. Neither was this.
ODDS AND ENDS
Kyler Murray posted negative 0.38 for Old School, the only sub-zero starter in the league, in a game he lost by 15.08. Isaiah Likely's 27.8 sat on that same bench. Brutal sequencing.
Ckwade won by 72 and still left 33.8 on the bench with Jalen Coker. Winning by that much and having a lineup regret is a specific kind of luxury.
Zaddy, the roster I called the best in the league eight days ago, scored 92.72. George Kittle 3.2, Terry McLaurin 3.4, Chargers D/ST zero. Kyle Monangai's 20.4 and Juwan Johnson's 14.4 never made the lineup. Bad Sunday, not a bad roster. Ask me again in three weeks.
POWER RANKINGS · WEEK 1
1
WolfhoundsPut up the highest score in the league by 42 points and left Travis Kelce on the bench doing it. Caleb Williams outscoring every quarterback in the league was not on anyone's card.
191.66
2
FellowshipI called them overrated eight days ago. Derrick Henry went for 35.3, Olave for 28.2, and Mahomes scored 21.7 from the bench they didn't need. Duly noted.
149.82
3
CkwadeFirst overall pick, first blowout. Gibbs and Watson combined for 66 and the only blemish is the 33.8 Jalen Coker put up while sitting on his bench.
144.50
4
ScalabrineWon by 15 with Ja'Marr Chase scoring 3.2 and no tight end at all. Montgomery and Javonte carried it. That is the most Scalabrine result imaginable.
137.50
5
Hope is ComingJefferson 31.2, Lamar 25.0, and a comfortable win over the RB armada. The champ looks unbothered by anything I wrote about him.
124.86
6
Old SchoolBijan's 31.3 and Bucky Irving's 20.3 kept it close, but Kyler Murray posted MINUS 0.38 and Isaiah Likely's 27.8 never left the bench. Winnable game, lost on the margins.
122.42
7
KraemericaJeanty's 32.7 in the rookie's league debut and a tidy win. Same script as always: quietly efficient, nobody talking about them.
119.86
8
BruisersJosh Allen went for 35.7 and they still lost by 74. When the Texans D/ST posts negative four, the math stops mattering.
117.06
9
House of WenkeFour running backs drafted in the top 40. The three he started combined for 34.4 while D'Andre Swift dropped 32.4 on the bench. The gambit's debut could not have gone worse.
94.80
10
ZaddyMy pick for best roster scored 92 and change. Kittle 3.2, McLaurin 3.4, Chargers D/ST zero, and 34.8 of bench points watching. It was one bad Sunday, not a verdict.
92.72
11
HaHaMcCaffrey 13.8 and Herbert 13.3 in the same week will do it. Second-lowest score in the league, and the variance machine is running in the wrong direction already.
83.26
12
Bridge FourMy dark horse. Colston Loveland zero, Gainwell 2.8, and the round-eight kicker scored 2.0 while Chuba Hubbard put up 23.7 from the bench. I will be taking questions at the press table all week.
72.26
Six games, one 74-point blowout, one 72-point blowout, one 66-point blowout, and three of my loudest preseason takes already under review. Week 2 cannot get here fast enough.
Chet McNulty has covered the Basement League since 2012. He has attended every draft, witnessed all fourteen championships, and has never once been allowed to vote on a trade veto.